Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Politics

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About the Book

This Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the major themes that have defined the politics of Southeast Asia. It provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge examination of this important subject. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and ideological themes that have dominated the study of the region's politics and presents the different ways the complex politics of the region have been understood. The contributions by leading scholars in the field cover a range of broad questions about the dynamics of politics.

The Handbook analyses how the dominant political and social coalitions of the region were forged in the Cold War era, and assesses the complex processes of transition towards various forms of democratic politics. How institutions and systems of governance are being forged in an increasingly global environment is discussed and whether civil society in Southeast Asia has really evolved as an independent sphere of social and political activity. The Handbook examines how national governments are dealing with growing tensions within the region as matters such as labour, human rights and the environment spill beyond national boundaries, and how they are establishing a place in the new global framework.

By engaging the Southeast Asian experience more firmly with larger debates about modern political systems, the Handbook is an essential reference tool for students and scholars of Political Science and Southeast Asian studies.

Table of Contents

Introduction Richard Robison 1. Interpreting the Politics of Southeast Asia: Debates in Parallel Universes Richard Robison Part 1: The Changing Landscape of Power 2. Southeast Asia: The Left and the Rise of Bourgeois Opposition Kevin Hewison and Garry Rodan 3. Labour Politics in Southeast Asia: The Philippines Jane Hutchison 4. Oligarchs and Oligarchy in Southeast Asia Jeffrey A. Winters Part 2: States and Regimes 5. Democracy and Money Politics: The Case of Indonesia Vedi Hadiz 6. Populist Challenge to the Establishment: Thaksin Shinawatra and the Transformation of Thai Politics Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker 7. Patronage-Based Parties and the Democratic Deficit in the Philippines: Origins, Evolution, and the Imperatives of Reform Paul D. Hutchcroft and Joel Rocamora 8. Consultative Authoritarianism and Regime Change Analysis: Implications of the Singapore Case Garry Rodan 9. Vietnam: the ruling Communist Party and the incubation of ‘new’ political forces Martin Gainsborough Part 3: Markets and Governance 10. Politics, Institutions and Performance: Explaining Growth Variation in East Asia Rick Doner 11. Donors, Neo-liberalism and Country Ownership in Southeast Asia Andrew Rosser 12. The Judicialization of Market Regulation in Southeast Asia John Gillespie 13. Global capitalism, middle class and the shape the new mega cities of the region Chua Beng Huat Part 4: Civil Society and Participation 14. The Limits of Civil Society: Social Movements and Political Parties in Southeast Asia Edward Aspinall and Meredith L. Weiss 15. Decentralization and democracy in Indonesia: strengthening citizenship or regional elites? Henk Schulte Nordholt 16. The Post-Authoritarian Politics of Agrarian and Forest Reform in Indonesia John McCarthy and Moira Moeliano Part 5: Violence 17. Tackling the Legacies of Violence and Conflict: Liberal Institutions and Contentious Politics in Cambodia and Timor-Leste Caroline Hughes 18. Testing the boundaries of the state: gangs, militias, vigilantes and violent entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia Ian WilsonPart 6: The Region and the World 19. Contested borders, contested boundaries: The politics of labour migration in Southeast Asia Michele Ford 20. Trade Policy in Southeast Asia: Politics, Domestic Interests and the Forging of New Accommodations in the Regional and Global Economy Helen Nesadurai 21. Southeast Asian Perceptions of American Power Natasha Hamilton Hart 22. State Power, Social Conflicts and Security Policy in Southeast Asia Lee Jones

About the Editor

Richard Robison is Emeritus Professor at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Australia. His research is concerned with the political economy and the politics of markets with a special focus on Indonesia. He is the author and editor of many publications on Southeast and East Asian Politics, including Reorganising Power in Indonesia: The Politics of Oligarchy in an Age of Markets (co-authored with Vedi Hadiz, 2004), also published by Routledge.